CHAPTER 7 ARTESH vs THE GOD OF ISRAEL

 

 

 Chapter 7

Artesh vs the God of Israel

     Hosseini, his Farsi accent still pure, stood in the middle of the roadway dressed in local police regalia acquired from the jail facility. Standing erect and with hand extended upward in a "halt" gesture, he brought an entire Artesh military battalion of about 500 men in various outdated vehicles to a stop.

     The commander, a Lieutenant Colonel, jumped out from the backseat. Clearly, he was not in the mood to have his military column stopped by a mere policeman. His shouting indicated he wanted an explanation.

     As the column approached, Mr. B had a plan, but Samuel interrupted that with his plan. His plan was for Hosseini to stop the column, and then introduce him, Samuel, into the conversation. He'd handle it from there with help from me and Colonel Petrov. He smiled and instructed everyone to continue with the task of gathering evidence and loading as if no Artesh were present.

     The Colonel and Hosseini were in a lively exchange when he was informed about the mystery of the three Russians standing nearby. With a look of angry confusion, the Colonel followed Hosseini's lead to the Russian officers.

     Hosseini did the intro, then proceeded creatively to walk the line of vehicles, smiling and explaining a situation that he knew few real details of to the soldiers. He planned to convince them to lower their guards by describing it as a farcical bureaucratic situation. The soldiers shook their heads in disgust, as this event was all too normal. They lit cigarettes as they exited the vehicles while talking and laughing, weapons left inside. Everybody was calm and relaxed, including Mr. B, who smiled at the beautiful teamwork. 

     Samuel, I, and Colonel Petrov along with the Artesh Colonel walked to a nearby low rock wall and sat down to talk. 

     Samuel lit a cigarette, astounding! He offered one to the Colonel, which he accepted. The four of us sat quietly for a few seconds while Samuel and the Colonel took long drags on their cigarettes.

 
     Finally, Samuel looked into the Artesh Colonel's eyes, saying, "Colonel, I know the situation here is unusual." He paused before continuing, "I think you will understand when I tell you that this situation going on before you here is well above your pay grade."

     The Colonel's eyes shot wide open as he tried to digest all the information injected into his mind. He looked around at all the loading and scurrying back and forth between the half-destroyed buildings of this top-secret area.

 
     Colonel Petrov and I looked at one another with a look of "Oh, Lord, we're about to get into a firefight with an enemy army battalion." 

     After what seemed like hours, the Colonel looked directly at Samuel, asking, "How can I and my men be of assistance, General?"

     Samuel put his left arm on the Colonel's shoulders, and, with his trademark ear-to-ear smile, Samuel poured this out, "Colonel, the Komeini will award you with the Order of Zolfaghar for the selflessness of you and your men in helping with this most secret of secret state emergency undertakings. The horror the Jews have caused here is indescribable. We must get these things to Russia for immediate processing."

     Jumping up and saluting, the Colonel shouted, "General, sir, it is mine and my men's duty as Iranians to give you any aid needed to accomplish this great mission. Consider us at your command for the rest of the project, and be assured that our lips are sealed about anything we have seen here."

     Samuel gave a stiff and snappy return salute and a gripping handshake to the Colonel. While still grasping the officer's hand Samuel pointed with his free hand at Mr. B approaching. "This gentleman approaching us is Mr. B. He is in charge of this secret operation. He is with VAJA, Iran's intelligence service."

     That information seemed to create a foreboding expression across the Colonel's face. It was just as planned and just as Mr. B wanted.

 
     Myself, Samuel, Petrov, and Hosseini tried to act nonchalant as we stood in a group taking quick glances at the Colonel telling his men the situation. We watched as all the men's faces degenerated into the same foreboding expression as had appeared on their Colonel's face at the mention of VAJA. Success.

     We had to be finished by nightfall to allow transport of the evidence to the sight of the C-130 landing zone to pick up materials. Also, the Kurds, who had prepped the sight, were waiting to escort our Team, the Russians, and the Christians to the border. It would be a risky undertaking, but God was leading.

     As the operation was near completion, I went looking for Samuel and Hosseini. I found them in the jail cell containing the Quizmaster. I peeked quietly into the open doorway. All three held hands while in a very intense prayer session. I thought it best to leave the three men doing God's work undisturbed for now. My only thoughts were, "What a fierce group of soldiers our Lord sets against his enemies."

     Not long after that encounter, our group pulled out leaving the Artesh Colonel and his men securing the town for the Khomeini. The gracious Colonel gave us two hours to gain the needed distance between us and the base of Parchin before setting off the explosive charges, destroying the remaining nuclear weapons components. 

     Now, on our way to meet up with our friends, the Kurds. Unbeknownst to us, our friends had a little surprise waiting for us.  

 

Some of the fake Iranian Police decided to get a picture taken with a strange group of Artesh Soldiers who stood at attention displaying the Iranian flag the entire time while their battalion was helping us with evidence theft.